Documentation of Hayley's time in jean Marie River, a small native reserve bordered by two rivers, hundreds of miles of ice, and isolated in it's time and culture. South goes north to experience a Canada she never knew existed.

2.12.08

Ice Bridge

The ice bridge opened this past thursday; the brave man that walks across first every year had made it back safely so it seemed like a good opportunity to escape from isolation for a little while at least. We drove for about an hour before we reached the 1km stretch of ice. The bridge is not elevated, you drive down to the ferry terminal out on to the ice surrounded by 10 foot ice ridges and huge mounds of graying snow. It was a very turbulent ride, i took off my seatbelt so as not to let myself be lost if the ice broke and water pulled us under. (which happens every year). There were students from Fort Simpson walking across, they park their cars on both sides and simply drive into town after.

Fort Simpson was pretty sleepy on saturday morning. it was pay week so everyone everywhere goes somewhere else to spend their money. The vegetable selection was disappointing, everything was within days of expiring. By the time the food gets to the Northern store in Fort Simpson from Edmonton it is mostly rotten anyways. We spend $70 each on produce! I feel like I am in a race against the clock with my food here, as much as I'd like to save and salvage nature demands me to splurge. We filled two garbage bags with food waste on sunday and i am constantly biting into sandwiches and fruit to taste bitterness and decay. Not nice when a bag of apples is $10.(I feel like Anne Frank haha).